2018 Goals: Six Month Checkpoint

This is Piece Hall in Halifax. It has nothing to do with goals really, but it’s very pretty.

Because we’re just past half way through the year, I thought it would be good to review the goals I made in January and see whether I’ve made any progress. Honestly, as usual, I completely forgot that I’d made some of these goals, so hopefully this recap will jog my memory so I can actually start getting shit done. That is, until I forget again… sigh…

It’s been quite a busy year so far, and everything feels like it’s gone by faster than The Flash at the Grand Prix. I can’t believe six months of the year are already over, and summer is almost over, and that soon I’ll have to start buying Christmas presents and planning for 2019 and getting my blue rinse at the old lady hair salon. Where is the time going?!

Anyway, that’s enough melodrama for one post – let’s see how well I’ve done!

1. Go one one coach journey, one long bus journey and one train journey
Unfortunately I’ve not had the opportunity to do this yet. Because we’re trying to save up for a mortgage, we haven’t been on any planned trips. We’ve been on a lot of long car journeys with family though, and I’m finding those much, much easier than I used to. I’m going to try and do a couple of trips later in the year when life’s a bit quieter!

2. Write a novel
For the first two months of the year, I was really focused on writing more, and was regularly planning novels and writing short stories. Unfortunately, as the year’s gone on and I’ve gotten busier, I just kind of forgot about writing and stopped making time for it. I’m hoping to get back on track with this in July, as I feel like my plot’s almost there and I can defintely finish this novel!

3. Read at an open mic event
In March, I read a joint piece with a friend, so technically I’ve done this, but I’d still like to read a piece completely solo. I actually planned to read something on my own at the next event, but I haven’t actually been to one since, as I’ve always had conflicting plans. Hopefully I’ll make it to the next one!

4. Go a month without spending anything at/on the way to work
I haven’t actually attempted this yet, as I forgot it was one of my goals, but I’m fully confident that I can manage it. I’m actually thinking about doing a month where I ban spending entirely, because I’d like to see if I’m up to the challenge!

5. Buy less stuff
As this is a goal for the entire year, I can’t really judge whether I’ll pass/fail this one overall, however I do think I’m doing quite well with buying less this year. I’ve spent a lot more time thinking about my purchases this past six months, and I’ve successfully managed to talk myself out of buying things I didn’t need at multiple events. I went to a comic convention in February and didn’t buy anything, which is incredibly unusual for me.

There have been a few slips where I’ve bought things on impulse, but I do think I’m doing really well with this!

6. Eat less chocolate
Even though I’ve not been consciously trying to do this, I don’t think I eat as much chocolate as I used to do. I still eat more than the average human does, but it is gradually reducing. I’m going to be more focused on this for the last six months of the year, however, as I’d really like to get it down to a healthier amount and not feel like I need to have it in the house at all times. Let’s do this!

7. Get up earlier
I did this for about two days, then decided I really liked sleep. I definitely need to attempt this again though, as my morning routine is so rushed and I never have time for breakfast. Oops!

8. Get more confident with driving
I’ve not even attempted this, because cars are expensive and I’m also terrified to get back behind the wheel again. Because we’re saving for a mortgage and a wedding, this goal might not be financially viable this year, but I’m still leaving it on the list just in case. I’d like to be a confident driver again, but I’m not going to stress too much about which year it happens.

9. Get a passport
Similar to the last goal, I just haven’t had the spare money to pay for the passport application. However, as passports are much cheaper than cars, I’m still hoping to get this sorted in 2018. I will have a passport!

10. Give myself more time to relax
The original goal I set was to have at least four evenings a month where I switched off and didn’t try to achieve any of the tasks on my to-do list, but I’ve actually spent more nights relaxing than not-relaxing this year. Although this has been great for my mental health and overall happiness, I am going to try and get more shit done in the second half of the year, but without compromising my chilled-out evenings playing The Witcher and binge-watching Netflix. I think going from one extreme to the other has helped me to understand how important balance is, and I think I’m much less likely to go overboard with to-do lists in future.

So that’s it. Ten goals, some that are going well, some that have barely been thought about. As it stands, I still want to aim towards most of these, but I’m not pressuring myself to achieve everything on this list by the end of 2018. Things change, and goals can be altered to accommodate that. While I’d love to achieve all of these as soon as possible, I’ve realised that I might not be able to and that’s fine. It doesn’t make me a failure.

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9 thoughts on “2018 Goals: Six Month Checkpoint”

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone, I have a % of the year progress on my laptop and phone installed and every single day I look at it, I just feel like I’m living in some fast-paced-never-stopping-world. Honestly. Crazy how time flies!

I love how even though you haven’t hit some of your goals, you’re still willing to give them a go. Waking up early is difficult and honestly, it’s just a consistency thing. Now I can’t stop waking up early even though sometimes I really want to! 🤣

I still have a lot of goals I need to tick off, but I’m doing well personally! My main goal this year is flexibility. 🙌🏼

Time is so so fast, I can’t believe July will end soon and we’ll be in the eight month of the year! After reading this post, I was inspired to look back and read the little goals I had for myself in my notebook and I found out that I haven’t achieved any of them, or even started one. It’s a really great idea that you reviewed your goals to check if you have any progress, I should have done the same sooner 🙁 At least now I’m aware and I remembered that I actually /have/ goals.

Write a novel… I’m so bad at that kind of thing. I don’t write novels but I’m trying to finish my fandom stuff. I get started and put out chapter after chapter for a few months and then I get side tracked and people have to wait a long time for me to get back into it. orz
Good luck with all your goals! You can do it! ♥

Oh man, I can’t believe we’re already past the halfway point in 2018! I’m glad you’ve focused on your novel – even though you got a bit busy lately, you still managed to put in some work. Oh man, buying less things is hard for me! It’s good that you’ve been talking yourself out of buying things. There’s still time in the next 5 months to get the rest of your list done! Keep it up! 🙂

Well, you accomplished more than I did in the past three years. My entire life, outside of work of course, is about relaxing and doing nothing. And I need to start doing stuff.

I feel, for me, I have to wake up at least two hours before work in order to have the time to do everything I want to do. I just don’t like rushing when I have to work. It works for me because I’m an early riser.

Good luck with writing your novel. Even if you found yourself not writing for a while, the fact you were able to do a lot at the start of the year is awesome. You have something to work with and allow it to grow. I know you can do it and I want to read it! 😀

Good luck with working towards or completing the things you want to do. I’m glad that you’re not putting pressure on yourself. Otherwise, it creates all the doom. -_-

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Welcome to Mamyology

Hi, I’m Amy. I’m a 25-year-old anime-lover, cosplayer, gig-goer and wannabe author. I’m also a very experienced chocolate-eater. I like to blog about my life, writing, Pokemon, books, and I sometimes pretend to be the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. Because I think everyone should learn how to vomit grandmas.